I have been sampling several high ABV beers recently, and several seem to converge on the same general taste. Examples include BA Avery & Bruery beers. My question is whether this is a natural consequence of the high alcohol content. When you go over 16 or 17%, do the flavors naturally converge? I am not saying that they are identical, but they definitely have some similarities. I wonder if this constrains the possible range of flavors. I would love to hear what others think about this, and hear about other experiences.
What beers? If you mean something like Uncle Jacob's from Avery and Black Tuesday from The Bruery, then yes they are the same style so they would taste somewhat similar.
Yes, UJ and BT are a good example. I guess my overarching question is whether high ABV beers will naturally taste similar because of their higher alcohol content. In other words, are the higher ABV beers similar because of style or simply because they are higher in alcohol.
I would say definitely not across styles. Take Uncle Jacob's, 120, and Chocolate Rain (all closeish in abv). Those beers do not taste the same. At all. Additionally, a beer like Utopias tastes nothing like any other in the upper teens or twenties in abv (that I know of). Even within a style, World Wide Stout, Chocolate Rain, and Uncle's Jacobs are easily distinguished.
